Scenario: Hammer Strike

[Mobhack]

Originally Posted by gingertanker

This is a new scenario I am working on....Note it is not totally finalized, I would like some feedback before I call it a finished product. Israel vs Hezbollah(with serious assistance from syria iran ad even the lebanese army). hope you guys like it. Please feel very free to critisize it or praise it

You will probably want to revisit this one after the new update, when that is released later on (no date yet).

1) New weapon class WT_EXPLOSIVES.
Explosives represent an HE charge, such as found in a demolition, IED, suicide vest or suicide vehicle.
Press F and they explode, destroying the carrying unit and also detonating any other WT_EXPLOSIVES HE rounds carried by the firing unit, plus any WT_NAPALM.
Explosives are not a close assault weapon, but vehicles passing by an enemy suicide infantry unit may cause him to trigger the device - and he may run into your hex before triggering the device, as well.

2) New unit class C_DEMOLITION
- has crew 0
- All have a pressure plate (friendly forces are less likely to trip if they pass slowly over)
- Ones with a radio are command detonated. If in contact, the player can select the demolition unit and press F to explode them.
- The pressure plates are trip-operated, and as with mines speed kills. High speed units are more likely to set one off. High speed units may not even detect them.
- Demolitions can be bought in any battle type, and can always be deployed out to the half-way line.
- If the WT_EXPLOSIVE charge is large enough, and placed on a bridge, they can drop these (as with air bombs and shells)
- Detection and clean-up similar to mines. Engineers defusing a detected demolition may trigger it..
- Demolitions are weight 250, so the user cannot transport them , they are pre-game set-up.
- detected Demolitions may only be shot at by sniper classes.
- Demolitions with a napalm chaser may spread fire into adjacent hexes too
- Demolitions have no morale effects (do not retreat etc)
- Demolitions don't detect enemy.
- MBT mine proof vehicle classes are better at not being immobilised/killed by nearby demolitions.
- The AI knows about auto-deploying these (e.g. likes roads and bridges). AI will remote detonate command demolitions if known enemy nearby. AI engineers will clear.

Some toys we have tested:
Suicide units:
suicide vest. About the size of a satchel charge. Add to a 1 man infantry class for a suicide bomber.
Suicide truck bomb. Add to an unused apc or tank class (APC and trucks under AI may not close on detected enemy, which is not the desired result here!). Same sort of stats as a 1000lb or 2000l air bomb.
Suicide tanker. Same as the truck bomb, but add a napalm charge.

- The explosives of course must be the only weapon, as if it had a rifle and tried firing, then it would of course explode the charge!

Demolitions
Demolition charges as booby traps (no radio, relatively cheap) or as command detonated demolitions or IED (Radio is charged for a fair bit with demolitions).
Fougasse. This was a few oil drums with a stick of dynamite as a primer. Made with a small explosive class "primer" and a napalm charge. Good for a road blocker, a typical UK Home Guard weapon in WW2.

oh - an explosion going off may destroy other explosive charges, setting them off, which may "tickle" another one and so on.. And so shooting a suicide bomber might well set his charge off. Moral - don't bunch up any suicide troops. Reconnaissance by fire may also produce some interesting secondaries.

The AI will be adjusted to buy these (both IED and bombers) for certain armies that warrant them (e.g. PLO, Mujadeen) by release time.

Cheers
Andy

[Imp]

Sounds wicked & nice touch with the sniper

[iCaMpWiThAWP]

Just a question andy, will engineers at some point be able to place those new demolitions?or to place a mine?

[Mobhack]

Originally Posted by iCaMpWiThAWP

Just a question andy, will engineers at some point be able to place those new demolitions?or to place a mine?

No, certainly not. There is simply not enough time in the game for such operations. Plus they don't carry an infinite amount of supply in their rucksacks either. All time limits for engineering operations tend to include a number of supply trucks loaded with the devices, as well as the actual men to lay them, per X metres of mines laid per time frame (which is usually expressed in hours).

A "mine" in SP is not 1 round metal thing filled with TNT, it represents a minimum density to be effective in a 50 metre (half a football field sized) hex. Say 50x50 = 250 sq m, divided by a density of 1 mine per 8 sq m = 30 mines. Factor in the time to survey and mark out the lanes, time to dig 30 holes, lay 30 mines, cover 30 mines. Engineer vehicle with shovels, tapes to mark lanes. Engineer truck with 30 mines (at 4-5 kg each, those do not live in rucksacks!). Try going into your garden, and burying 30 flowerpots in 3 lines of 50 metres, and you would be part-way there, less the fusing and safe handling of explosive devices bit.

Demolitions are more complex things, and so are also pre-game deployment items.

Andy

[wulfir]

Played through the scenario. It's quite demanding.

I actually cheated. Started up the scen but played sloppy in the beginning and had 4 tanks imoblised due to artillery.

So I cheated.

Created a one scenario Campaign out of the Hammer Strike scenario and made player 1 Sweden. Bought my own forces for similar amount of build points as used by the IDF in the scenario.

Bought a Battle Group of 1 reduced tank company (1 platoons), 2 reduced mech infantry company, 2 infantry companies (truck mounted), 1 engineer company, 1 escort company (Coastal Rangers in Sisu APCs) and for support 5 artillery batteries (of which 2 were 155mm) along with some mortars, 1 air sorti, 3 81mm Mortar platoons. I also got 1 UAV and four transport helicopters.

This force is much bigger than the original IDF setup in the scenario, but with fewer tanks and more vulnerable IFVs/APCs. Placed them on map near the original sceanrio start point.

Attacked with three spearheads. The northern one made best progress and secured the northern VHs. The centre push was possibly the strongest but stalled on the centre part of the map due to lack of engineer capability. The southern force punched through into the southern town but the urban area swallowed up a lot of forces. Slow progress. I did not use artillery in urban areas out of concern of the civilian population.
Had no use of the helicopters either. Too vulnerable to hand-held SAMs.

At game's end I had secured most VHs in the north and south but not all in the middle. My losses were considerable:

115 casulties, 1 tank lost (the tank company commader no less), 1 CV90 lost, 4 Sisu APCs a few trucks and jeeps and the one UAV.

Enemy losses were near total; 275 men and most heavy assets like tanks, artillery and AT-guns/ATGMs but still had a few scattered units on the map.

Nice scenario. Now, give us MOAR!

[gingertanker]

Thanks for all the replies and I am very happy to hear about the suicide units and IEDs...Suicide bombers were not very common with Hezballah in 2006, but they will be very usefull of r PLO and Hammas scenarios...I will wait for those units to be ready and redo this scenario.

[cbreedon]

Gingertanker,

Thanks again for a great scenario. I ended up with a marginal victory. The land mines did me in... I think I had 5 or 6 disable tanks :-(

I did an end around which saved me from alot of the mines. Basically I went straight to the bottom of the map and went though the main town first then came back up and around towards the top of the map. Most of my tanks were disabled in the valley heading towards the top of the map.

Very enjoyable as always with your scenarios.